Thought Zero – We’re already late, so let’s drop the preamble and get on with the show!
1) We start things off with Silas Young versus Kyle O’Reilly. This should be a very good match between two of ROH’s top in-ring workers. Good choice to start the show.
2) Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino start talking about how Kyle O’Reilly is a “hybrid wrestler.” So he runs on gasoline and electricity? Corino sort of talked himself into a corner with that and didn’t really know how to explain it. Something about how O’Reilly can go after any body part of his opponent and work it over but then might change and go after something else to win. That sounds a bit like sloppy ring psychology actually.
3) O’Reilly starts off in control and works the knee, but obviously he might go after something else to win. (I’m still confused, Mr. Corino.) Young manages to toss O’Reilly to the outside and takes over with the ever-dependable ringside brawling. Then we take a commercial break.
4) Back from break and the announce team talks about Cody Rhodes debuting at Final Battle. And if that isn’t enough to make you order the pay-per-view, Corino shares that Kevin Sullivan, BJ Whitmer, and Punishment Martinez are not happy about Cody coming into Ring of Honor. JOY! They are adding another person I don’t care about to that garbage fire of a storyline!
5) The O’Reilly/Young match wasn’t bad, but it seemed a bit slow and never really kicked into that extra gear. However, as expected, both men hit their moves with precision and strength. Adam Cole came out during the match to watch O’Reilly choke, but O’Reilly won with the brainbuster, and Adam Cole just stormed off. Just an FYI, Steve Corino and Adam Cole’s little lover’s spat is super-entertaining.
6) Post-match, Silas Young cuts a promo on a fan dressed as Jushin “Thunder” Liger. He then turns it into a promo against Liger himself. And guess what? Young fights Liger at Final Battle. What a coincidence.
7) Next up is a promo from Jay Lethal! Yay! However, my joy is short-lived as Lethal cuts a promo against Cody Rhodes whom he will be facing at Final Battle. That sucks on a few levels. First, you can deduce that Lethal won’t win the title in London before Final Battle. Second, you can deduce that Lethal will be jobbing to Stardust at Final Battle. And third, there is a pretty sad possibility that Lethal will get caught in the Kevin Sullivan shitshow. Ugh.
8) The next segment is a philosophical sit-down with the Motor City Machine Guns. Basically, they are tired of being beaten up by The Bullet Club and are looking to find help from people like Jay White and Lio Rush to fight them. You could probably aim a little higher there guys. This was a long and boring segment which completely wastes the charisma of Alex Shelley.
9) From there, Delirious pops onto my screen to sell some Ring of Honor merchandise on sale! That was great. Maybe it is saying something that I understood every word he said though.
10) Main event time is a semi-final match in the Six-Man Tag Team Tournament between The Kingdom and Team CMLL. Let’s see if any of these guys stand out. But before we get there, The Addiction cut a promo on The Briscoes. During the promo, Christopher Daniels continues on his newly humbled and philosophical bent. He pulls it off. I approve.
11) Bonus thoughts this week because I didn’t plan this out very well.
12) Apparently before the main event, we will get a tag team match featuring Colt Cabana and Dalton Castle.
13) We have Cabana and Castle talking backstage and Castle explains he thinks he has been dropping the ball lately because he doesn’t have the Boys with him at ringside. Cabana dismisses his concerns and tells him to just randomly pick two of the the five guys Cabana has dressed like the Boys backstage. There is something very, very disconcerting that Colt Cabana has a bunch of dudes dressed up like Dalton Castle’s Boys hanging out in the back just waiting for … what exactly?
14) You know, these guys have been teaming for a few weeks at least and I have yet to make a Cabana Boy joke. Shame on me.
15) So Castle chooses a couple guys and they go to the ring to wrestle two guys I have never heard of, Preston Quinn and Ken Dixon. The match lasts about as long as Goldberg/Lesnar 2, with Castle dominating and scoring the victory. After the match, though, Colt Cabana breaks up the team for no real reason. I mean, if he was upset about their losing streak, they just broke it. They just won a squash match. Seems like a weird time to split up the team.
16) But, because that wasn’t confusing enough, Cabana turns on Castle, hitting a low blow, beating up the fake Boys, then stabbing Castle in the face and eye with a peacock feather. What’s up with that?
17) Okay, now we get the main event. The Kingdom’s leather jackets are pretty weak looking. And I miss Maria Kanellis.
18) I gotta say, this was a six-man tag team match. Lots of action and fun spots, but nothing any more special than any of the other matches we’ve seen in this tournament. I’m still not overly impressed with The New Kingdom. And their look is not helping me remember them. The best I can say is that Vinny Marseglia has a bunch of tattoos and TK O’Ryan looks a little like CM Punk without tattoos. The Kingdom did pick up the victory with a triple powerbomb type move. They will face ACH, Kushida, and Jay White in the finals at Final Battle.
19) One final note, while writing this, I jumped over to the Ring of Honor website. Spoiler alert – They have signed Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll. I am intrigued to see these two as I have heard lots of good things about them. And they apparently decided to make them feel wanted, so they had Ospreay win the TV title from Bobby Fish in his debut. And then had Scurll take the belt from Ospreay two days after. Interesting turn of events.
Sorry for this being a tag late. Until next week..
